Sharing Military Stories
Veteran Sarah Doran now writes children’s books
By Amy Rognlie | Photos and book covers courtesy of Sarah Doran
Once a Black Hawk helicopter crew chief and mechanic for the U.S. Army, veteran Sarah Doran now has a different mission.
“Creating authentic, high-quality literature to positively represent military families while providing the civilian population with a glimpse inside military family life is at the heart of my mission as a military children’s author,” Sarah said.
Her stories are not only written for military kids — who desperately need great books they can see themselves in — but also for their civilian peers. Sarah grew up as a military child herself, as her dad served in the Air Force for seven years and in the Army for 23, retiring after 30 years of service.
“My entire childhood was spent navigating the unique challenges that military children face — the constant moving, the hard goodbyes, always making new friends,” Sarah said. “I’m grateful that I have two, almost three, books that I can give back to the community that helped raise me and make me into the woman I am today.”
Sarah and her husband, James, also a U.S. Army veteran, lived in Central Texas while stationed at Fort Hood from 2008-13 and then returned to the area in 2017. Sarah’s military service includes two deployments, one to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from 2009-10; and one to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, from 2011-12, as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood.
The Dorans are active members of First Baptist Belton and very involved in the local homeschool community, where Sarah teaches at CENTEX Christian Cooperative. Sarah, who has two sons, wanted to create stories that would linger in readers’ minds long after they turned the final page, to instill a deeper understanding of military history, U.S. service members and their families, and the cultural legacy of military family life.
Sarah’s first book, The Peppered Sky, celebrates military family life as two young characters adventure into a world of airborne drop zones, military aircraft and U.S. paratroopers, and witness a mesmerizing training exercise in the sky. Written in rhyme and told from a military child’s perspective, this beautifully illustrated book is sure to delight readers, both military and civilian alike. The Peppered Sky, published in 2023, recently won the 2025 Eric Hoffer da Vinci Eye Award, and was a 2025 Eric Hoffer Award Children’s Category finalist, a 2024 American Legacy Book Award finalist and a 2023 Best Book Award finalist.
After a warm reception from both the military community and the general public, Sarah published her second title, Sleeping Giants, in 2024. This book highlights the work of military women in aviation as well as the imagination and resiliency of military children with the warmth and passion of a veteran’s point of view.
Sarah is working on her third book, The Fearless and the Fallen, which is a tribute to veterans while still including Sarah’s hallmark adventure and imagination, military history, tanks, trucks and helicopters. It is slated for publication in early 2026.
“I strive to create books from a place of true authenticity,” she said. “My creative team is composed of military-connected individuals who personally understand the sacrifice, dedication and values associated with military service.”
All of Sarah’s books are printed in the United States, regardless of the higher printing costs, because she knows how much that matters to the military community. She also works diligently with her illustrators to ensure that artistic details are as accurate and authentic as possible to honorably reflect the armed forces. Sarah’s stories each demonstrate the values that make our military community so unique and strong.
Each story includes educational resource pages and a STEM activity to extend beyond each heart-warming story and encourage critical thinking in little readers.
As one of very few authors who write children’s books about the military, Sarah’s work has recently gained national attention. In May, she joined talk show host Eden Gordon-Hill to discuss books, America and Gordon-Hill’s All-American Book Club. Gordon-Hill is a Washington, D.C., morning talk show host with WMAL radio, a veteran spouse and former senior advisor of communications under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2020. Her radio show and podcast serve to promote meaningful discussion on national and family values. In July, Sarah was featured on a podcast for Moms for America, which is a conservative education advocacy organization.
Sarah is also very active in the Bell County area, speaking at schools, libraries and on Fort Hood. In the last few months, she presented at the Killeen chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, the Temple Public Library’s “Books for Lunch” program and Barnes and Noble Bookstore, just to name a few. You can catch her in September at the annual Walker Honey Artisan Market in Rogers, and the Christmas on the Chisholm Trail Christmas Market in Belton, in December.
Besides the usual places to purchase books, Sarah’s books are available on Spousely, a platform where the vendors are all either military or first-responders. Purchases directly support the vendors and their families.
Learn more at www.authorsarahdoran.com.
